I want to take a second to note here, that if I were able to find every instance of a young person who killed themselves each day because they are queer or because they've been bullied for being perceived as queer, there would be No Room For Any Other Content On This Journal.
This is not a new rash of suicide amongst gay youth. Rather, statistics show that gay teens attempt suicide at at least four times the rate of their straight peers. And that doesn't even take into account those kids who are targeted with anti-queer slurs who may not have any queer identity.
The cruelty which we too often ignore, tolerate and encourage in our youth, that we say is just a part of growing up, is killing kids EVERY DAY in and adjacent to our communities.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-28 07:47 pm (UTC)Unfortunately I now hear it all the time, including at independent restaurants, so it's obviously been picked up as a polite thing to say and so I suppose there isn't much to be done about it.